Statement game
Rowsey, Eagles dominate Pirates
Marquette senior guard Andrew Rowsey liked being back in the friendly confines of the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Tuesday night.
After struggling with his shot over the Golden Eagles' two-game road trip, Rowsey scored 31 points to lead MU to an 84-64 upset victory over Seton Hall.
The victory over the Pirates (14-3, 3-1 Big East) stands as the signature moment of the season for the Golden Eagles (12-5, 3-2). Seton Hall is ranked No. 15 in the USA Today coaches poll and 13th by The Associated Press.
Rowsey couldn't have gotten off to a much better start against Seton Hall after shooting 6 of 24 during MU's trip. He was 2 of 12 against Villanova in the Golden Eagles' last game.
That was quickly forgotten as Rowsey scored MU's first 11 points. He shot 5 of 6 before getting a breather at the 12:24 mark.
In MU's last home game, Rowsey had scored 35 points on 9-of-18 shooting in the 74-65 victory against Georgetown on Dec. 30.
He later hit a three-pointer with 8:26 remaining in the first half and had 14 points at the break.
While Rowsey inspired the offense in the first half, MU center Matt Heldt took care of business on the other end.
Matched up with one of the best centers in the nation in Seton Hall's Angel Delgado, Heldt had six rebounds and a steal in the first half.
As a bonus, Heldt also scored six points. He did not score in the loss to
Villanova.
Heldt finished with nine points and seven rebounds.
Held't defense helped fuel a couple runs that gave the Golden Eagles control.
First, MU ripped of an 11-0 run, capped by a Heldt tip-in, to take a 15-9 lead with 11:06 remaining. The Golden Eagles also scored eight unanswered points, including a three-pointer by Sam Hauser, to take a 25-15 lead with 7:04 left before halftime.
MU held a 40-32 lead into intermission.
The Pirates scored the first seven points of the second half before Rowsey hit a runner at the 17:12 mark.
Rowsey later added three free throws and a jumper after getting a steal in the backcourt to score MU's first seven points after halftime.
Rowsey's last five points were the start of a 16-0 run in the second half that gave MU a 58-41 lead.
He has not missed a free throw in MU's last six games, making his last 33 attempts.
The Pirates closed the gap to nine points before Heldt converted a threepoint play to give MU a 65-53 lead with 7:46 left.
Soon after that, Rowsey, Hauser and Markus Howard hit three straight three-pointers to put MU comfortably ahead at 76-57.
Rowsey and Howard also hit backto-back triples to give MU a 82-59 advantage.
Hauser scored 14 points for MU and Howard added 12.
Howard had scored 87 points on MU's trip, including a school-record 52 against Providence.
Ismael Sanogo led Seton Hall with 14 points. Delgado finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Seton Hall had won four of the last five match-ups coming into the game, including an 82-76 win in the Big East quarterfinals last season.
The Golden Eagles return to action against Butler on Friday.